''Klee Wyck'' (1941) is a memoir by Canadian artist

Emily Carr Emily Carr (December 13, 1871 – March 2, 1945) was a Canadian artist who was inspired by the monumental art and villages of the First Nations and the landscapes of British Columbia. She also was a vivid writer and chronicler of life in her sur ...

. Through short sketches, the artist tells of her experiences among

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

people and cultures on

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

's west coast. The book won the 1941

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

and occupies an important place in

Canadian literature Canadian literature is written in several languages including Canadian English, English, Canadian French, French, and various Indigenous Canadian languages. It is often divided into French- and English-language literatures, which are rooted in th ...

Background

Emily Carr (1871 - 1945) is one of western Canada's most well-known artists. Born in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

, she painted themes from nature, as well as imagery from the cultures of west coast First Nations. In her late sixties, Carr turned to writing. After ''Klee Wyck'', she published six additional collections of autobiographical sketches. Carr was an avid traveller, and explored much of the west coast of British Columbia in her lifetime. She related some of her experiences on western

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; / , literally "Islands of the Haida people"), previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago located between off the British Columbia Coast, northern Pacific coast in the Canadian province of British Columbia ...

, and on the Skeena and

Nass River The Nass River is a river in northern British Columbia, Canada. It flows from the Coast Mountains southwest to Nass Bay, a sidewater of Portland Inlet, which connects to the North Pacific Ocean via the Dixon Entrance. Nass Bay joins Portland I ...

s in this first book. Other essays relate to her time living in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, where she worked as a painter and art teacher. In 1937, Carr suffered a heart attack. After this, she turned away from painting and began a prolific period of memoir writing. Much of ''Klee Wyck'' was composed as she recovered in bed. The original, unpublished title for the book was ''Stories in Cedar.'' Carr instead chose ''Klee Wyck'', a nickname given to her by the First Nations people of

Ucluelet Ucluelet (; colloquially known as Ukee) is a district municipality on the Ucluelet Peninsula, on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Ucluelet comes from ''Yuułuʔił'' which means "people of the safe harbour" in the ...

. It means "Laughing One". Emily Carr 1928 Kitwancool

Publication history

Originally published by the

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

' Toronto division in 1941, the book was abridged by 2,300 words for the 1951

Clarke, Irwin & Company Clarke, Irwin & Company was a Canadian publishing house based in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1930, it was purchased by Thomas Nelson Publishing in 2002. The company published works by prominent Canadian authors, artists, and poets, including ...

edition. Removed were several passages critical of the actions of European missionaries, as well as an account of a

mixed race The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...

family. This version was the basis for all editions of the book until

Douglas & McIntyre Douglas and McIntyre (2013) Ltd. is a Canadian book publishing firm. Douglas & McIntyre was founded by James Douglas and Scott McIntyre in 1971 as an independent publishing company based in Vancouver. Reorganized with new owners in 2008 as D&M ...

's 2004 edition restored the text. The original edition also featured four colour

plates Plate may refer to: Cooking * Plate (dishware), broad, mainly flat vessel commonly used to serve food * Plates, tableware, dishes or dishware used for setting a table, serving food and dining * Plate, the content of such a plate (for example: ...

of Carr's paintings, including a portrait of Sophie Frank. The original foreword was by Ira Dilworth. A French translation was published in 1973.

References

External links

*
Full text of ''Klee Wyck''

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital li ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klee Wyck 1941 non-fiction books Canadian autobiographies Clarke, Irwin & Company books Governor General's Award–winning non-fiction books Oxford University Press books Biographies about artists Emily Carr Books about Indigenous people in Canada